Key facts: CATERHAM SEVEN 620S

Price: £44,995

Engine: 2.0-litre supercharged (310hp)

Economy: N/A

0-62mph: 3.4secs

Top speed: 145mph

But if all this sublime opulence isn’t your cup of tea, for £220,000 less consider the Caterham 620S.

A loosely road-focused version of the insane Caterham 620R racer, there are few cars, on a sunny day and with an empty B-road in front of you, that can be quite as genuinely life-affirming as this top-of-the-range Caterham. Detachable fabric doors, huge side-mounted exhaust, wheels you can watch turn and a pair of hard — but heated, mind you — seats just a couple of inches off the road surface all feature in this most brutal British driving experience.

This mark of madness scampers from 0-62mph in a ridiculous 3.4second

It’s louder than war.

This mark of madness scampers from 0-62mph in a ridiculous 3.4seconds thanks to weighing in at just 610kg and a dollop of supercharger heaven.

Yet, it feels even faster than the figures suggest when you’ve manually un-poppered and peeled the roof off — this is hands-on motoring.

Key facts: RANGE ROVER EVOQUE CONVERTIBLE

Price: From £47,500

Engine: 2.0-litre (177hp)

Economy: 49.6mpg

0-62mph: 10.3 seconds

Top speed: 121mph

However, if you are of a nervous disposition, don’t like crawling in and out of your car like a giant disadvantaged spider or five seats plus some storage space actually feature on your soft-top shopping list then there is an SUV for that.

Britain’s first fully-convertible SUV has arrived and it’s not at all the odd ball it sounds.

The Range Rover Evoque Convertible took me by surprise.

It feels great

More Motors

Road Test

Ride this and beem

We review the BMW G310 R from price to economy and all its features

Road Test

confidence inspiring roadster

We review the BMW R Nine T from price to economy and all its features

Road Test

incomparable animal of a car

We review the Ferrari 488 GTB from price to economy and all its features

Road Test

reassuringly expensive hybrid

We review the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid from price to economy and all its features

Road Test

bigger, better mini cooper

We review the Mini Cooper Countryman from price to economy and all its features

Although 99.9 per cent of these controversial cars won’t stray further than an unexpectedly muddy field or an unusually high kerbstone, I had the pleasure of testing its genuine, off-road credentials in Courchevel, high in the French Alps.

And let me tell you, off-roading on ice with your top off gets dangerously close to Caterham levels of British bonkerdom — only with cup holders.

Although boasting an excessive nine gears in its automatic box, the sensible 2.0-litre diesel I tested keeps you planted in the real world of rising fuel prices, delivering a decent 49mpg.
In 21 seconds your de rigueur SUV will do what nobody else’s will — no matter what they’ve paid for it. And it feels great.

Other choices

Of course, Britain makes a bunch more convertibles that are all worthy of our pride and investment too; the Mini Convertible, Jaguar F-Type and Aston Martin’s Vantage S Roadsters and Vanquish Volante for example.